forgive us our calories

First Ever Pizza Night this Wednesday at The Hackney Pearl

I am nervous for the first time in months. I will probably not sleep tonight, and when tomorrow afternoon comes I will be ready to jump out of my skin. Tomorrow night, I will step into a professional kitchen. Not as a TV producer or as a wide-eyed tourist, but as a cook.

A few weeks ago, I decided to finally bite the bullet and do what I’ve been talking about for all these years. Tom and I spend so much time talking about food, reading about food, cooking and eating it. We dissect every nuance of a meal or a recipe. We photograph it, and we blog it. It’s clear we are consumed by restaurant culture, but neither of us know what it’s really like on the other side of the fence. Well, maybe it’s time to find out.

What I thought was just a small obsession with pizza has slowly grown into bigger opportunities, and tomorrow night, pizza will take me to the Hackney Pearl, located in our beloved Hackney Wick. They have been gracious (and brave) enough to let me invade their kitchen and put my pizzas on their menu. I’ll be serving up classic margherita style and spicy sausage pizzas while the bartenders handle the libations.

Working with the pro’s is completely new territory for me, and of course, I’m nervous as hell. But if we do things right, who knows what might happen? If London has shown me anything, it’s that the world is full of possibilites. It’s exciting to be in a city that’s pulsing with creativity. It’s definitely not easy to make a name for yourself here, but it’s “easier” to test the waters when you see a lot of other people trying it too.

Browse

Nuno Mendes’ highly anticipated foray back into haute cuisine dining at Bethnal Green Town Hall with Viajante after his success at the The Loft Supper club. Shame the service and the pastry chef soured an otherwise good meal.